Building an Ice Hotel: It’s an Annual Affair

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The Icehotel in Jukkasjärvi, Sweden, is exactly what it sounds like: a guest lodge built out of frozen water. The whole thing—bar, chapel, and accommodations for 100 guests—must be rebuilt annually, for obvious reasons.

March

The Icehotel constructed last year is still open for business—the spring thaw comes late 125 miles north of the arctic circle—but this is the time to gather raw material for next year’s structure. Workers use hydraulic saws to slice the surface of the nearby Torne river into 3-foot-thick blocks, which are extracted with earthmoving equipment.

April

By now, workers have harvested 3,000 blocks of ice, each weighing 2.2 tons. They are transported to a warehouse and stored at 20 degrees Fahrenheit.

May-September

As the ice blocks chillax in storage, last year’s hotel gradually melts back into the river.

November

Brr! Time to start rebuilding. Large steel moldings are positioned where the finished edifice will stand, and snow machines produce tons and tons of “snice”—a mixture of snow and ice. Giant snow blowers inhale the slushy stuff and blast it onto the metal frames. After two days, the snice has frozen solid and the frames can be removed. The giant hunks of ice are removed from storage and stacked on top of one another. Then they get doused with water. The liquid freezes quickly, cementing the blocks into support columns.

December

Leftover ice is used to make windowpanes and beds (covered in reindeer fur for comfort). Icehotel’s first guests of the season check in. They enjoy welcoming drinks of Absolut vodka—served, of course, in tumblers made of ice. The hotel provides boots and snowsuits, but if guests forget to bring their own thermal underwear, they’ll have to buy some in the gift shop.

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